Argentina to create 40 new wine ‘ambassadors’ for the country

Argentina is hosting 40 Masters of Wine this week to create “new ambassadors” for the country, according to Trapiche’s Duncan Keen, who has masterminded the trip.

The MWs visited Zuccardi Wines in Paraje Altamira.

During an opening address on Saturday evening at Trapiche’s winery outside the city of Mendoza, Keen outlined his motivation for inviting more than 40 MWs to visit Argentina.

Stressing that the country must continue on a drive to raise its average bottle prices in both domestic and export markets, he said that he wanted to show the visiting Masters of Wine how it is “premiumising its offer”.

He also said that the MWs should be able to help Argentina raise awareness for its higher-end products once they fully understand the quality and range of wines being made today.

“We need help with premiumisation, and we believe that working with the Institute of Masters of Wine is one of the ways,” he said.

Commenting that both the visiting MWs and Argentine wine producers stand to benefit from the week-long programme of winery visits and masterclasses, he added, “We think Argentina has undergone a transformation in the last few years and we believe we can boost your knowledge.”

He also said that the events during this week were groundbreaking in Argentina, as they had brought together producers.

“Here we want to work in a different way, where the subregions are more important than the wineries. The subregions are where the wines come from; the wineries come later – for example, we will have a masterclass now with 20 wines, and only one comes from Trapiche,” he said.

Selecting the wines and helping to choose the themes of the masterclasses has been a committee of independent experts, comprising Argentine sommeliers Paz Levinson and Andrés Rosberg along with MWs Tim Atkin and Madeleine Stenwreth.

Tim Atkin MW, Madeleine Stenwreth MW, Paz Levinson (sommelier) and Andrés Rosberg (sommelier). You can follow the latest news on Twitter using the hashtag #MWinARGENTINA.

Then, Keen the emphasized his hopes for the trip before the first masterclass began.

“Hopefully as of next Monday you will start to consider Argentina in everything you do; we want to gain mindshare of you, that’s what we are trying to do,” he stated.

Outlining his aims in three succinct points, he added, “We will strive for you to fall in love with Argentina and our culture; we will strive to you to fall in love with our wines and our people, and we will strive for you not to forget us.”

Finally, summing up his expectations in a single sentence, he stated: “By the end of the week we will have more than 40 new ambassadors of Argentina”.